


The Next Move

by Ink_Gypsy



Category: Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: M/M, OTP summer dreams month 2014, Sean Astin/Elijah Wood - Freeform, sean/elijah fics, tol_eressea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-24
Updated: 2014-08-24
Packaged: 2018-02-14 12:29:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2191908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_Gypsy/pseuds/Ink_Gypsy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sean surprises Elijah at Bang Bang and learns some unsettling information.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Next Move

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Wish Fulfillment Week during OTP Summer Dreams Month at Tol_Eressea, based on this photo of Elijah. The photo surfaced before Bang Bang, but for the purpose of this story, it happens later.
> 
>  
> 
> [](http://s755.photobucket.com/user/elwoodlovesirish/media/BruisedElijah.jpg.html)  
> 

It seemed to Sean that DJing was taking up more and more of Elijah's time. He was happy that Elijah had found something so fulfilling, but he couldn't deny that he hated that this was something they couldn't share. Sean enjoyed music, but his and Elijah's tastes were vastly different, and he knew that despite his degrees, he could never match Elijah's immense knowledge of music both past and present. But now that Elijah had teamed up with his buddy Zach Cowie and they were appearing together as _Wooden Wisdom_ , Sean felt -- yes he could admit it -- a pang of jealous that the man he loved was sharing one of his great passions with someone else.

Not that Sean had any right to be jealous of anything Elijah did. Even though he'd long ago stopped denying that he was in love with another man, a blue-eyed angel ten years his junior, his choice to honor his commitment to his wife and children had robbed him of any say in Elijah's choices, especially when it came to his career, or even what he did when he wasn't working. It still amazed Sean that Elijah not only loved him in return, but was content to be with him whenever Sean could manage it. Elijah always joked about being "the other woman," but knowing the sacrifice Elijah made to be with him, Sean couldn't very well complain when Elijah spent the time they couldn't be together with other people.

Even if they weren't planning to meet, it was Elijah's practice to tell Sean when he was going out of town, what he'd be doing and even at what hotel he'd be staying. Having cell phones that allowed them to reach out to each other anywhere on the planet made Elijah sharing his travel arrangements with him unnecessary, but Sean knew why he did it. It was Elijah's way of telling Sean that the choice to be with him was always his. Each time Elijah gave him his itinerary, Sean knew what he was really saying was, _This is where I'll be, Sean. The next move is yours._

So Sean made that move, booking a flight to San Diego so he could surprise Elijah at _Bang Bang_ , where he and Zach were DJing. That he thought the name of the venue was ridiculous was further proof to Sean that they were of different generations, but standing there amid the noisy crowd, his eardrums being blasted by the pounding music, he could see the attraction for Elijah.

Sean didn't plan to stay, just stand there long enough to give himself the pleasure of seeing Elijah at work. The look on the face of _his_ half of the DJ team was intent, as focused as a surgeon as he flipped through the stacks of vinyl recordings beside the turntables up on the raised, DJ platform.

[](http://s755.photobucket.com/user/elwoodlovesirish/media/bang1.jpg.html)

Then moments later Elijah was smiling his beautiful, gap-toothed smile, and as he always did at events like this, whether he was performing or just attending as a guest, he took out his phone and began taking photos of the crowd, needing to document the experience.

[](http://s755.photobucket.com/user/elwoodlovesirish/media/bang2.jpg.html)

Afraid Elijah might spot him as he scanned the crowd, Sean ducked out unseen and headed for Elijah's hotel. It still surprised Sean that he never encountered a problem asking for Elijah's room number at any hotel where he was staying. Millions of movie goers identified him as Frodo's faithful Sam, and their friendship off screen was equally well known, so it never occurred to the person behind the front desk that Mr. Wood wouldn't want to see Mr. Astin. That courtesy didn't extend to letting him into Mr. Wood's room when the registered guest wasn't there, but Sean had no problem sitting in the hotel lobby with his iPad and catching up on correspondence while he waited.

******

Elijah was normally too wired after a gig to go back to his hotel room and go to bed, but tonight, for some reason, he just wasn't into going clubbing with Zach and some of his buddies. What he really wanted was to talk to Sean, to share the high he was feeling with the man he loved. Sean knew where Elijah was tonight, what he was doing, so he could have called, but when Elijah checked his phone, he couldn't deny the disappointment he felt that there were no missed calls from Sean. Of course, he could always call Sean, but it was late and the call might wake the kids, or if Sean had left his phone out, Chris might decide to answer it and he didn't want to be responsible for setting her off when she saw his name on the call I.D.

He found long-buried feelings of anger and frustration bubbling unexpectedly to the surface and quickly bottlenecked them with his practiced internal monologue. _You've got no one to blame but yourself, Elwood. Everyone warned you not to fall in love with Sean Astin, but you did it anyway. You knew going in that having a relationship with a married man wouldn't be easy, that his family was always going to come first in his life, so suck it up and stop feeling sorry for yourself._

Elijah briefly considered calling Zach and telling him he'd changed his mind about going out, but decided a shower, room service and watching a good movie in bed would be a better choice than drowning his sorrows in alcohol and dealing with the inevitable hangover the morning would bring. He called in his late-night snack order, stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shower, reveling in the feel of the pulsating water on his aching muscles, and when he came out of the bathroom five minutes later, someone was knocking on the door of his room.

Musing on the hotel's lightning fast service, he slipped into the soft, terry robe the hotel provided, tying the belt so he wouldn't give the room service waiter an unwelcome surprise, but when he opened the door, it was Elijah who got the surprise, and it was far from an unwelcome one. "You fucker!" he cried out with delight. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Sean said.

"Well you sure accomplished that," Elijah told him. "Now get your ass in here." Grabbing Sean's arm, Elijah pulled him into the room, and once Sean was inside, shut the door behind him and set the door bar lock. After he knew they couldn't be disturbed, Elijah wrapped his arms around Sean's neck and gave him a kiss so passionate anyone would have thought they'd been separated for years. When he finally broke from their kiss, he asked, "Did you just get in? If you'd come earlier you could have seen our set Bang Bang. It was awesome."

"I was there," Sean informed him, slightly flushed from the kiss. "I was too late to buy a ticket, but they recognized me at the door and let me in. I only stayed for a few minutes, just long enough to see you in action. You know it's not really my kind of thing."

Elijah took Sean's small overnight bag and put it on the luggage stand. "You don't have a room here?" he wondered.

Sean shook his head. "Didn't think I'd need one. I've been sitting in the hotel lobby, waiting for you to get back."

"I almost went clubbing with Zach and his buddies! You could have been sitting there all night!"

"What changed your mind about going?" Sean asked.

"Well…I was kind of hoping you'd call."

Sean smiled. "I hope you're not too disappointed that I decided to make a personal appearance instead?"

"Fuck no!" was Elijah's immediate response. "I was going to order some Pay-Per-View porn, but now that you're here I can have the real thing."

"So the truth finally comes out," Sean said with a frown. "You only want my body."

"Always," Elijah corrected, "but not only." Slipping off the terry robe he wore, he walked away from Sean, letting it fall to the floor in his wake. Then he climbed onto the bed and lay back against the pillows, arms and legs splayed out so Sean would have an unobstructed view. "I also love your mind, Irish," he went on, "so since you're here, why don't we have a long conversation on the subject of your choice?"

"Dammit, Elwood," Sean protested, "you're not playing fair." When Elijah only smiled, Sean walked toward him, undressing quickly so that by the time he reached the bed he was as naked as the younger man already lying there. "Conversation is over-rated," he decided, and was about to join him on the bed when Elijah suddenly swore. "What's wrong?" Sean asked.

"Shit," Elijah said disgustedly, "since I wasn't expecting you, I don't have anything for us to use."

Sean turned from the bed and moved to his bag on the luggage rack. Opening it, he took out a box of condoms and a tube of lubricant and informed Elijah, "I guess I'm not ready to give up my job as Safety Hobbit just yet."

When the knock on the door came five minutes later and a cheery voice announced, "Room Service," neither Elijah or Sean were in any position to answer it. The waiter waited a moment, then added," I have your order, Mr. Wood." He was about to knock again when he heard an unmistakable, high-pitched giggle coming from inside Elijah Wood's room. Shaking his head in disappointment, he left the tray outside the door and walked away, mourning the loss of what he imagined would have been a really generous tip.

The abandoned late-night snack became their breakfast in the morning. "I'm glad you could stay," Elijah told Sean as they lazed in bed, "because as much as I love going to bed with you, there's something I love even more."

"What's that?" Sean wondered.

"Waking up with you."

"I wish it could happen more often--" Sean began.

"Don't, Irish." Elijah put a finger to Sean's lips to silence him. "It is what it is. Maybe someday it will be more, maybe it won't, but I'm happy to be with you right here, right now."

"I am, too," Sean said. He ran a hand down the inside of Elijah's right arm, stopping short at the sight of the yellowing purple bruise right above his elbow. "My God, Elijah, did I do that?" he asked, horrified. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize I'd gotten so rough with you last night."

"You didn't," Elijah assured him. "This is courtesy of some asshole at _Bang Bang_ last night."

"What? He knocked you into something?"

"Something like that."

The fact that Elijah didn't provide more of an explanation set off Sean's radar. "What aren't you telling me?" he asked.

"It's no big deal, Sean. Let's just enjoy our morning."

"Elijah."

Sean knew Elijah well enough to know he was keeping something from him, and Elijah knew Sean well enough to know that his lover wasn't going to let it go until he knew the whole story, so he gave in. "This guy got really trashed and decided his ticket entitled him to some private time with the DJ."

Sean stiffened. "He tried something with you?"

"Tried," Elijah confirmed. "He wouldn't take no for an answer, but when he grabbed me, security stepped in and threw him out. Stuff like that happens, Sean."

"You mean this has happened to you before?" Sean questioned. "Guys coming on to you when you're DJing?'

"Sure."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew how you'd react."

"I shouldn't have left," Sean decided. "I should have stayed--"

"And done what?" Elijah interrupted. "Come to my rescue? I don't need you to take care of me, Sean." Elijah hadn't meant it to come out sounding so cruel, and fearing his words had hurt Sean, he said, "Look, Irish, I know how much you love me, but you can't make up for the times we're not together by being over-protective when we are. I know it's hard on you when we're not together. It's hard on me, too, but it was your choice that things be this way."

"I know it's my fault."

"I'm not blaming you," Elijah told him. "I've never blamed you. I could have told you to fuck off when you decided to stay with Chris, but I didn't because I loved you too much to consider never seeing you again. I still love you so nothing's changed. Please don't ruin the time we have left before you have to go home to your wife. Let's just concentrate on the things that matter."

Sean said, "You matter, Elijah. _We_ matter."

Elijah nodded. "All the more reason for us to enjoy our time together while we can."

"Am I really over-protective?" Sean asked.

"Yes," Elijah admitted, "but you can't help yourself. There's too much of Samwise ingrained in you for you to ever stop wanting to look out for me."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'll never forget how you took care of me in New Zealand."

Sean sighed. "I know you really didn't need me to take care of you."

Elijah smiled. "Which is why I enjoyed it so much. You were like a big brother to me, someone who was always there for me, someone I could depend on. Then I fell in love with you and didn't want you to think of me as a kid anymore. It wasn't until I found out you loved me, too, that I understood how much it meant to you, how much it still means to you to be able to take care of me, but when you're not here, I have to take care of myself. I need you to be okay with that."

"I'll try," Sean promised.

"But since you're here now," Elijah told him, pointing to his bruised arm, "I think I could use some looking after."

"Thank you," Sean said, and kissed him.

With Sean's strong arms wrapped around him, Elijah asked, "How soon do you have to go home?"

"I've got time," Sean replied, but lying there holding Elijah, he felt like he was already home. The next move, as always, was his, and Sean knew he was finally ready to make it.


End file.
